Benton sophomore Audrina Wade finished runner-up in the girls division 126-pound class in the LHSAA Wrestling State Tournament Saturday at the Brookshire Grocery Arena.
Wade battled back from an 11-2 deficit before falling to Lafayette senior and No. 1 seed Quetzicalli Guevara-Tapia by a tight 11-9 decision in the championship match. According to TrackWrestling.com, Guevara-Tapia is 39-0.
Wade, the No. 2 seed, won the 132-pound class last year, the first tournament with girls wrestling as an LHSAA-sanctioned sport.
Wade defeated junior Naomi Cosgrove of Sulphur by a 14-3 major decision to advance to the finals.
Wade fell behind 7-0 early in the championship match. She scored two points late in the first period.
Guevara-Tapia scored the only three points of the second period for a 10-2 lead.
She added one point early in the third.
Wade rallied late, scoring one point on a stalling penalty and three with a takedown. With time running out, she almost got a pin. The nearfall with 8 seconds left scored three points, but Guevara-Tapia held on for the win.
None of Guevara-Tapia’s other matches lasted more than 1:16.
Wade was the highest finisher among parish wrestlers in the tournament and the only finalist.
Haughton freshman Darbi Karnowski, Parkway freshman Ashlyn Coffey, Benton junior Caylee Brammer and Benton junior Keira Liesch all made the awards stand in the girls division by finishing in the top six in their respective weight classes.
Karnowski finished fourth in the 114-pound class. After falling in the quarterfinals to Giada Ruffino of Mandeville in the quarterfinals, she won three consolation matches to reach the third-place match where she faced Ruffino again. Ruffino won by fall in 3:52.
Coffey (100), Brammer (120) and Liesch all finished sixth in their respective classes.
Brammer fell to Lynette Elizondo of South Beauregard by a 19-8 major decision in the semifinals of the championship bracket.
Liesch fell to No. 2 seed Olivia Maxie of Baton Rouge by fall in the semifinals of the championship bracket.
Airline junior Bruce Bletz was the only parish boys wrestler to make the awards stand. He finished fifth in the 150-pound class.
Bletz won his first two consolation matches before losing in the semifinals. H edefeated Dominic Ruggieri by a 16-8 major decision in the fifth-place match.
Benton finished 10th in the girls division with 67 points. Lafayette won with 174.5.
Baton Rouge was second with 139.
Bossier finished 16th in Division II boys with 42.5 points. St. Thomas More won with 289. North DeSoto was second with 282.5.
Airline led parish teams in Division I boys, finishing 22nd with 47.5. Benton was 24th with 40.5.. Haughton was 33rd with. 20.5 and Parkway 35th with 16.
Holy Cross won with 275.5. Brother Martin was second with 232.5.